1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to advertising displays, and more particularly to a display used in conjunction with a public telephone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Every marketing strategist appreciates the immense potential of advertising. The most significant means of advertising products is displaying the ad at the point of purchase, and is most effective when placed in a location designed to confront the consumer face to face.
In this regard, many people have recognized the availability of public telephone booths as a medium for advertising. For example, J. R. George and W. L. Schuyler of Denton, Maryland, have designed several combined telephone booth/advertising display units, depicted in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 263,264, Des. 263,101, and Des. 263,102. The advertising panels are usually placed above the booth, or at eye level as shown is U.S. Pat. No. Des. 260,702, issued to L. A. Hannula.
None of these patents, however, disclose the use of an electronic display board in conjunction with a telephone booth. One such display board is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,888, issued to Harnden et al. These display boards are commonplace, and are used to communicate a wide variety of information, from stock market quotes to prices at the local fast-food restaurant. They are usually operated via a direct connection to a control processor. They may be programmed to present a number of different messages in several different display formats.
In addition to the absence of booths having electronic billboards, no prior art devices show the ability to program these message boards via telephone lines. Of course, recording units have been devised which allow callers to leave messages on tape. One such device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,664, issued to R. A. Gange, allows the caller to leave digital messages and correct them. Along another vein, modems have been used for years to assist computer operators in communicating over long distances with standard telephone lines. In fact, modems and processing units have been used in pay telephones in the past to run diagnostics on the electronics of the telephone, to check the amount of money deposited therein, and to enter new rate tables, such as for long distance communication.
In spite of the existence of these devices, no apparatus exists by which a user may program display boards which are remote from his or her office. It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to devise a system having electronic display boards integral with public telephone booths, capable of being programmed remotely to advertise serveral different messages.